EDWARDSVILLE — Edwardsville coach Matt Martin makes no claim of being an Illinois prep football historian, but he does know the Tigers are breathing rarefied air in the Class 7A Elite Eight.

“I look at the eight teams that are left,” Martin said, “and it’s like the Who’s Who of state football.”

Defending Class 7A state champion Glenbard West remains, along with the storied program from Chicago Mount Carmel. And the Edwardsville Tigers draw the Lincoln-Way East Griffins, a new-money power with postseason appearances in every season since the school opened in 2001.

“Lincoln-Way East is a team with a strong tradition,” Martin said. “The best way to describe them is physical, disciplined, well-coached.”

Toss in big and strong and fast and the description is complete for a 9-2 Griffins team that takes on the 11-0 Tigers at 3 p.m. today at the District 7 Sport Complex. Today’s winner advances to the semifinals against the victor of the Mount Carmel (10-1) at Downers Grove North (7-4) quarterfinal today in Downers Grove.

Edwardsville, seeking its first semifinal berth since losing at Mount Carmel in 2005, would be home against Mount Carmel or at Downers Grove North if it can knock off East. The Tigers and Griffins have met in each of the past three seasons, with East dominating all three dates.

East beat Edwardsville 40-10 in the quarterfinals last season in Frankfort, after winning Week 1 matchups — 45-14 in 2011 and 37-14 in 2010 — on neutral artificial turf at Illinois State in Normal. The Griffins graduated most of their weapons from last season’s state runner-up squad, including quarterback Tommy Fuessel, who is now at Northwestern.

“It’s quite a complement to their program that they can replace 19 or 20 really good kids and be back in the quarterfinals again,” Martin said.

The Griffins do return one of the state’s top linemen in Illinois recruit Nick Allegretti, a 6-4, 280-pound senior who is also a standout wrestler. East suffered road losses at Homewood-Flossmoor (24-21) in Week 5 and Bolingbrook (12-3) in Week 7.

Injuries to its top two running backs forced East to shuffle the backfield. Jordan Wirtz, the starting quarterback for the Griffins’ first eight games, was switched to running back with junior Mike Weller stepping in at quarter.

The offense has responded with 13o points in three games with Weller at quarterback, including last week’s 57-40 win at Oswego East when Weller completed 13 of 26 passes for 254 yards and four touchdowns. The 6-2, 180-pound Wirtz rushed for 182 yards on 22 carries in the victory.

“Again, it’s a sign of their program’s quality and their depth,” Martin said of the personnel shifts. “Not a lot of teams can do that.”

The Griffins’ ability to move the ball by pass or run will challenge a ball-hawking Tigers defense that has been stout against the run with linebackers Sean Sandifer (6-0, 210), Cameron Throneberry (6-0, 190), Zac Rujawitz (6-0, 227) and Curt Mueller (6-4, 218) operating behind a front three of nose guard Jarrod Kolesa (5-10, 226) and ends Jeff Clubb (6-0, 215) and Kyle Keasey (5-10, 200).

“It will be tough to defend,” Martin said. “But I think, knowing (East), they want to establish the run. You have to take that away or you’ll never see anything else. I don’t know if you can take it away, but you’ve got to keep it under control.”

Edwardsville’s offense has been prolific while piling up more than 1,000 yards offense in postseason wins over Tinley Park Andrew (59-28) and Bradley-Bourbonnais (42-0).

Elijah Crockett made his first start against Andrew and has racked up more than 370 rushing yards in two games. And junior quarterback Dan Marinko has continued in the playoffs what he started in the regular season.

Marinko has passed for 2,654 yards, 28 TDs and four interceptions, while also rushing for 634 yards and 16 TDs with an average of 9.2 yards per carry. He has a big target in 6-4 tight end Hayden Schmidt and big play wideouts in Darius Crochrell (60 catches, 845 yards, 14 TDs), Isaiah Michl (32-654) and Fontez Davis (34-580).

But Lincoln-Way East represents a new level in the 2013 playoff draw for the Tigers, who are glad to face the challenge at home.

“We’ll play them anywhere,” Martin said. “Playing at home means a little less work on our part and it’s a great opportunity for our community and the Metro East to see some quality football.”